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E-mails
& Doctors
By Jarvis
Dr.
Daniel Suez makes at least a dozen house calls a day,
without ever leaving his
office. E-mail makes it possible.
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"It's the
best way to promote good medicine," the Irving, Texas,
allergist said. "It's a wonderful tool."
Many doctors have been reluctant to hang their shingle
at a virtual office because of privacy concerns, but more
and more are turning to technology to improve the way
they practice medicine. At the click of a mouse, they're
checking lab results and answering patients' questions
about everything from earaches to ingrown toenails. The
service, sometimes free, other times costing $25 or more,
is generally not covered by insurance companies.
Physicians are, however, quick to warn patients that e-mail
was never intended for emergencies or complex health problems.
"You'll never see someone with chest pains e-mailing
their doctor," said Dr. Edward Fotsch, chief executive
officer for Madame, a San Francisco-based e- health network
founded by the American Medical Association and other
national medical societies.
An AMA study released last month found that 78 percent
of physicians use cyberspace. About 25 percent of physicians
send e-mail to and receive e-mail from patients; three
of 10 using the Internet have their own Web sites.
"Five years from now, I don't think a physician will
be able to run an office without online consulting, anymore
than they can run an office now without a fax," Fotsch
said. "I think patients are way past ready for it."
By putting a library's worth of educational material on
their Web sites, doctors are able to provide accurate
information and address common concerns. Time-crunched
patients have found that Web sites and e-mail make their
lives easier.
From her laptop computer, Michele Hudson of McKinney,
Texas, E-mails her doctor whenever she has a health concern.
Over the past two years, Hudson estimates she has e-mailed
him 50 times. He doesn't charge her for the service.
"As much as I travel and as busy as I am, it's just
much easier," said Hudson, 32. "Instead of wading
through a bunch of nurses, or waiting until he gets free
moment, I'll e-mail him, and he quickly responds to it."
Hudson said she has no qualms about online security, but
plenty of other people do.
"One of the big problems is, patients don't want
information about their hemorrhoids splashed across the
Internet," said Dr. Charles Hendler, a Dallas internist
who after 20 years in medicine recently started offering
online consultations. While Internet medicine offers some
efficiencies, the impersonal nature troubles him.
"Basically, medicine still has a magic element to
it," Hendler said. "Sometimes what someone is
telling you is a different thing from what you're seeing.
The problem is not having the hands-on experience."
Dr. Stephen Buksh, a Bedford, Texas, internist, said he
is concerned about what happens to an e-mail once it leaves
his computer. "If I sent a message about lab results,
I don't know if the person's computer is password protected,"
he said, "or if someone is looking over their shoulder
and reading a sensitive e- mail that says something about
a sexually transmitted disease or AIDS."
Privacy is such a concern that Congress passed the 1996
Healthcare Insurance Portability and Accountability Act,
or HIPAA, to limit the nonconsensual use and release of
electronically stored private health information.
The regulations go into effect this fall, and health care
organizations are busy buying software to help them comply.
Some health professionals are so unsure about how the
federal law will affect medicine that they are steering
clear of online services. The University of North Texas
Health Science Center in Fort Worth, for example, does
not allow its doctors to conduct e- mail consultations.
In contrast, Medem has embraced technology by launching
its Online Consultation service, which connects patients
with their doctors through secure e-mail. The service,
two years in the making, has developed a structured, encrypted
alternative to regular e-mail. |
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Repair
Kit
In
a scientific first, researchers report that adult
stem cells circulating in the bloodstream
don’t just regenerate the blood supply; they
can also morph into skin, liver and intestinal
tissue.
What’s the significance? The news suggests
that the body may have a stash of universal repair
cells, capable of being dispatched to wherever
they are needed-and, which someday may be used
to treat disease without having to rely on the
controversial stem cells taken
from human embroyos.
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